ACC Officially Welcomes Cal, SMU and Stanford to the League

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference continues to ACCOMPLISH GREATNESS with the addition of three world-class institutions in the University of California, Berkeley (Cal), Southern Methodist University (SMU) and Stanford University as full members with full voting participation. SMU’s first official day in the ACC is July 1, 2024, while Cal and Stanford will become official members on August 2, 2024. All three institutions will begin conference competition this fall. 

The additions of Cal, SMU and Stanford enhance and strengthen the ACC academically, athletically and financially as well as create a true national conference that spans coast to coast. The incoming universities enrich the league’s competitiveness in all sports and further demonstrate the ACC’s commitment to broad-based programs for both women and men. More than 2,200 student-athletes from Cal, SMU and Stanford will join the nearly 10,000 current ACC student-athletes competing at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics.

“This summer marks a momentous occasion for the ACC with the addition of three prestigious institutions – Cal, SMU, and Stanford,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “Since our announcement last September, the conference has been diligently preparing to become an 18-member league that spans from coast to coast. We look forward to the future of this incredible league and extend a warm welcome to the student-athletes, coaches, staff, campus communities, alumni, and supporters of Cal, SMU, and Stanford into the ACC.”

Established in 1953 with seven charter members, the ACC’s expansion is the seventh in the league’s history and gives the league the most members that it has had in the conference’s illustrious history. The conference moved to eight members in 1979 with the addition of Georgia Tech and expanded for a second time in 1992 with Florida State. The ACC added three members in 2004 and 2005, as both Miami and Virginia Tech joined the league in 2004, followed by Boston College in 2005. Syracuse and Pitt joined in 2013, as did Notre Dame, who agreed to join the ACC in all conference-sponsored sports except football. Louisville accepted an invitation to become a full member of the ACC in 2014.

Cal, SMU and Stanford will begin competing in the ACC across their respective sponsored sports beginning in the 2024-25 academic year. No conference offers more than the ACC’s 15 women’s sports and 28 total sponsored sports.

About the Atlantic Coast Conference: 

The Atlantic Coast Conference, in its 72nd year and 18 members strong, stands as one of the most competitive and revered intercollegiate conferences in the nation. ACC members including Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest are dedicated to upholding the league's founding values of academic excellence, athletic competition at the highest level, and integrity. The ACC supports 28 NCAA sports, with 15 for women and 13 for men, and its member institutions span 12 states. In August 2019, the ACC and ESPN partnered to launch ACC Network (ACCN), a 24/7 national network exclusively devoted to ACC sports and original programming. For more information, visit theACC.com and follow the ACC on Instagram (@accsports), Twitter (@theACC) and Facebook (facebook.com/theACC).

About University of California, Berkeley: 

The University of California, Berkeley, is consistently rated the world’s top public university. The flagship of the 10-campus University of California system, it was chartered in 1868 with a mission to excel in teaching, research and public service. Enrolling more than 42,000 undergraduate and graduate students, the campus has more than 1,500 full-time and 500 part-time faculty members in more than 130 academic departments that offer more than 350 degree programs. The faculty's outstanding research achievements and scholarship so far have led to 26 Nobel Prizes, and an additional 35 Nobel Prizes have been won by alumni.

Cal Athletics is a broad-based NCAA Division I athletic department that sponsors 30 varsity sports and includes over 900 student-athletes. The department has approximately 300 staff members. Cal Athletics has produced 104 team national championships and 223 Olympic medals. Notable alums include Aaron Rodgers, Jason Kidd, Natalie Coughlin, Marshawn Lynch, Jaylen Brown, Layshia Clarendon and more.

Cal by the Numbers

• 21 of Cal’s 30 teams made the postseason in 2023-24.
• Three teams finished the 2023-24 season ranked No. 2 in the nation.
• Nine teams finished the 2023-24 season ranked in the top 10.
• Three 2023-24 Pac-12 Coaches of the Year.
• Six 2023-24 Pac-12 Players of the Year.
• Two student-athletes won 2023-24 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors.
• 104 all-time team national championships.
• 331 all-time individual national championships.
• 223 Olympic medals, including 121 gold medals.
• In the last two years, Cal has had a 91 percent GSR - the highest in its history.

About Southern Methodist University:

SMU is the nationally ranked global research university in the dynamic city of Dallas. SMU’s alumni, faculty and more than 12,000 students in eight degree-granting schools demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit as they lead change in their professions, communities and the world.

In the classroom and on the field, SMU Athletics is driving excellence and growth to be among the best athletics programs in the country. SMU brings the highest level of collegiate competition to Dallas, which was recently named the No. 1 city for sports business by the Sports Business Journal, and continues to build on recent success, with all 17 programs reaching the postseason and 16 programs winning conference championships since 2013. SMU is the only NCAA FBS program in Dallas, and has claimed 10 overall national championships, almost 200 team conference championships, over 100 individual national championships, more than 150 NCAA top-10 finishes, nearly 2,000 All-American honors and over 150 Olympic appearances. Since 2013, SMU has invested over $250 million to develop and enhance championship-caliber facilities.

SMU by the Numbers

• Program-record eight AAC championship teams in 2023-24.
• 28 event conference titles won by student-athletes in 2023-24.
• 10 coaches and/or staffs of the year in 2023-24.
• 15 teams in the 2023-24 postseason.
• Nine teams finished in the top 35 of the NCAA or national rankings in 2023-24.
• 109 all-conference honors in 2023-24.
• 81.1 percent home winning percentage in 2023-24.
• 13 AAC Player of the Year honors in 2023-24.
• 20 All-America honors in 2023-24.
• 213 all-time team conference championships.
• 10 all-time team national titles.
• More than 150 Olympic appearances.

About Stanford University: 

Founded in 1885, Stanford’s campus is home to seven schools, a distinguished faculty that includes 20 living Nobel laureates, and more than 7,800 undergraduates and 9,600 graduate students. Stanford’s Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation leads the nation with 136 NCAA team championships, has won the Women’s Capital One Cup four of the last seven years, and has achieved the LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup for 27 of the 30 possible seasons. Nearly 900 Cardinal student-athletes compete as members of 36 intercollegiate athletics teams.

Stanford by the Numbers

• The nation’s all-time leader in NCAA team championships, having won 136 NCAA titles (71 men, 65 women) and 167 national championships overall (77 men, 88 women, 2 coed).
• Has won at least one NCAA team championship during each of the last 48 seasons, dating back to the 1976-77 campaign.
• Won four national championships during the 2023-24 campaign, winning a fifth consecutive men's gymnastics title while cruising to a dominant run in women's golf. Stanford also added a pair of national titles in sailing.
• During the 2018-19 campaign, Stanford captured seven national championships overall, a haul that included NCAA crowns in women's volleyball, women's swimming, men's gymnastics, women's water polo, women's tennis and men's golf, as well as an IRA title for rowing. The six NCAA titles matched the school record for an academic year, with the Cardinal also winning six back in 1996-97.
• Stanford has won the Learfield Directors’ Cup in 26 of the possible 30 seasons, including a 25-year streak from 1995-2019. The Cardinal has also claimed 10 Capital One Cup crowns, as a three-time winner on the men's side and a seven-time champion of the women's program.
• Stanford has produced 562 individual NCAA champions and 645 overall. The Cardinal boasted 10 individual national champions during the 2023-24 campaign, led by Asher Hong (men’s gymnastics) collecting three NCAA titles.
•  Highlighting Stanford's individual performances in 2023-24 was Cameron Brink, named the Naismith Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year and recipient of the Lisa Leslie Award, given to the nation’s top center. A three-time All-American, Brink was selected second overall in the WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks after averaging 17.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game.
• Stanford’s commitment to academic achievement continued in 2023-24, as the Cardinal registered an overall graduation rate of 97 percent in the latest Graduation Success Rate (GSR), with 17 varsity teams earning a 100 percent graduation rate.
• 177 Stanford-affiliated athletes have won a combined total of 296 medals (150 gold, 79 silver, 67 bronze) in Olympic competition, including a school-record 27 medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and 57 Olympians with Cardinal ties at the 2020 Tokyo Games.